Maybe, at the end of the day, all you'll really get from audio is that raw information dump. Maybe you won't fall in the love with the art in podcasts. But by listening at 1.5x, you're starting with a handicap. You don't love your favorite movie because you watched it out of the corner of your eye, listening just for the important details. Give real time a chance.

I listen to podcasts for the information dump, but I don't consider listening at 1.5x speed to be a handicap. I have a real handicap. I was diagnosed with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy in the Fourth grade, and I have been legally blind ever since. I grew up listening to audiobooks from the Library of Congress at 1.5x, 2x, and even 3x sped. I probably get more out of listening at 2x speed while doing my math homework than most people get listening to podcasts at 1x speed while wearing fancy headphones.

I don’t want sugar in my coffee, but it won’t impact my enjoyment of my coffee if you put sugar in yours. I can enjoy the crap out of listening to live Phish shows with my HE-6 regardless of whether you listen to pop music with Beats. And your enjoyment of podcasts at 1× isn’t affected at all by me listening at 1.125× plus Smart Speed. There’s no downside to giving people these options.

It begins with the buying experience itself. The cheaper Apple Watches will reportedly be sold using five- to ten-minute demo sessions at tables set up throughout Apple Stores, but the Apple Watch Edition will be demoed in private one-on-one sessions that can last up to an hour. Accessories and alternate bands will apparently be offered after customers have been allowed to try on the watches.

Once you’ve bought your five-figure smart watch, you can elect to have it set up in the store, or you can take it home and go through a “Virtual Personal Setup” video chat with an employee. The Personal Setup feature will reportedly be available to stainless steel Apple Watch wearers, too, but only Edition buyers will get “an exclusive, dedicated Apple Watch Edition phone line for two years of 24/7 technical support.” An AppleCare+ purchase extends your watch hotline privileges to three years.

Finally, if you live near an Apple Store that doesn’t usually stock Apple Watch Editions, Apple will send some over via courier so you can still get the in-store try-on experience. Alternatively, the Apple Store employees can direct you to a nearby store that stocks the Apple Watch Edition.

In 2003, when I worked at Apple, we were taught to treat all customers the same regardless of income level.

Around the world, we strive to treat every customer the same — regardless of where they come from, how they worship or who they love.

In 2015, equality at the Apple Store has a new tier for those looking to spend $10,000 or more.]]>Paste Without StyleThomas BrandNotes2015-03-30T18:00:51-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-88http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-88Craig Hockenberry exclaims his disdain for Paste-with-Styling, and proposes a solution.

The solution is surprisingly simple: make Paste and Match Style the default for pasting by mapping the menu item to the ⌘V keyboard shortcut:

I too agree Paste-with-Styling is the bane of the WYSIWYG world; especially in email. Of course if the world settled on plain-text email, that would suit me just fine.]]>Ephemeral BloggingThomas BrandNotes2015-03-30T17:46:50-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-87http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-87Manton Reece, maker of the Twitter archiving tool Tweet Library, chimes in on Egg Freckles new practice of 'Ephemeral Blogging.'

I think the next 5 years of blogging are going to be a lot more varied than the previous 5 years. Medium-style UIs, Twitter-like microblogs, and of course traditional WordPress blogs, plus the work Dave is doing and whatever else people build as blogging takes off again. I’m looking forward to shipping an app that contributes something to all of this, too.

I like the term Ephemeral Blogging so much, I am going to use it as my own.]]>It Is Time to Write Something NewThomas BrandNotes2015-03-29T10:28:53-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-86http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-86For the last five months I have been practicing a new way of blogging. Articles of reference receive a permalink with a link on my homepage and a link in my RSS feed. Quotations and comments are displayed in full on the homepage and in the RSS feed, but do not receive a permalink of their own. As I write, older quotations and comments are pushed down the homepage and lost from the site forever.

My new blogging method may not be conventional and it isn't helping the longevity of the web, but it is not that different from publish in-the-moment services like SnapChat and Periscope.

By not wasting time worrying about my writing's legacy, I am publishing more often. My regular readership is going up, and I am even thinking about removing more of my older published articles.

I feel like disposable blogging lends itself to a more carefree publication, not only for me but my audience as well. When you pick up a magazine, you don't expect to have access to every back issue. How many people actually archive their Twitter timeline and reference it on a regular basis? If I write something original I will give it a permalink, and see how it stands the test of time. If it remains popular it will get to stay on the site. But at the end of the day I can't concentrate on the echoes of the past. It is time to write something new.]]>My Work Here is DoneThomas BrandNotes2015-03-28T12:23:32-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-85http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-85conclusion of his website, ifo Apple Store.

After following Apple retail for 14 years, I’ve reached a happy ending, and am gracefully backing away from the crazy world of following the company and its stores. No more stories or analysis, or flying out to far-flung locations to join overnight crowds,waiting for the excitement of new store opening (NSO). I began this Web site as simply a way of celebrating the fun of grand openings and the close friendship of the people I met when I arrived in a new country or city.

I remember the excitement of new Apple Store openings. I was the first customer at Apple's 25th retail store in Rockingham Park, Salem New Hampshire.

ifo Apple Store has been an invaluable resource for me and other Apple fans who could not make the trip to Apple Store grand openings all over the globe. Gary Allen's work will be missed.]]>MessagePad 2000Thomas BrandNotes2015-03-27T11:58:45-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-84http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-84Eighteen years ago this week, Apple shipped the MessagePad 2000.

The MessagePad 2000 offers the versatility of a laptop- including email, fax, and Internet access capability, as well as personal productivity software--at a fraction of a laptop's weight: 1.4 pounds. Incorporating the 160 MHz StrongARM processor, the MessagePad 2000 performs up to ten times faster than current handheld computers in the market today and works easily to exchange data with both Windows and Mac OS-based computers.

The idea was to design a PDA for the mobile business professional. The 2000 wasn’t envisioned to compete with an organizer, but rather to replace some of the common functions people do with a laptop–and do a better job at it. We looked at the forerunner Newton 110/121/ 130 Series and learned from its mistakes, taking a rototiller to the hardware and software and re-implementing the pieces which weren’t well done the first time around.

No. But we knew users complained about the lack of PCMCIA slots on the original Newton. Without two slots, they couldn’t use storage and communications PC Cards at the same time. We were already heading for a larger form factor to accommodate an additional slot. Our concern was how to reduce cost and power while boosting performance. Cirrus was looking for a partner to help it get into the PDA market.

The MessagePad 2000 was designed from the start to replace the basic functionality of a laptop rather than compete with the lowly PDA. By 1997 I am glad Newton’s engineers had finally decided what they wanted the MessagePad to be.

It was difficult. We had to manage two logic designs in parallel to keep the MessagePad on schedule and to bring the StrongArm into the design without adding risk. At the engineering validation phase, one logic board ran a 25-MHz ARM710 and the other a 162-MHz StrongArm.

Sure. We were very careful to make all the code dynamic. For the most part, the software engineers on the team didn’t have to know what processor they were writing code for. Low-level software was implemented so that either one of the existing prototypes would function with it.

I doubt a 25-MHz ARM710 would have been very effective as a laptop replacement, and it the Newton engineering team knew it. That is why the MessagePad 2000 was simultaneously designed with two different CPU architectures and its own form of Universal binary.

The unit’s DRAM and flash is the main system memory. It’s placed on the protected (memory) side of the bus, not on the PCMCIA side. Flash is where we store user information that’s not dependent on the unit’s batteries. We laid out the logic circuit board to use as little as 1 Mbyte of DRAM and 2 Mbytes of flash. Should there be customer demand, we may go to other configurations. We’re shipping 4 Mbytes of flash.

The other configuration became the MessagePad 2100. The MessagePad 2000 may have been the first MessagePad developed with expandability in mind. Since the MessagePad 2100 was released just six months later with the full 8 MBs of RAM, I am curious why Apple didn’t go with the larger memory space to begin with.

The unit has a unique subminiature connector. What is it and what does it do?

It’s called the Newton interconnect. Originally we tried to fit an 8-pin DIN in there, but weren’t happy with the impact it had on our low-profile enclosure. Don Porter, our mechanical engineer, chose a 16-pin JAE Electronics (Irvine, Calif.) connector that was more suitable.

We added enough pins to it so a user would be able to use a communications device and a keyboard simultaneously, as well as providing charging power-in and peripheral power-out. That way, customers vertically integrating the unit could add meaningful backpack electronics. We ended up with 26 pins. JAE customized it for us.

Before there was the 30-pin Dock Connector, Lightning, Thunderbolt, or USB Type-C, there was the Newton Interconnect. Personally I wish they had stuck with the 8-pin DIN, much more durable. But the Newton Interconnect offered expandability no found in earlier MessagePads.

You can rotate the screen for vertical or horizontal views. Horizontal’s good for a Web page, but vertical’s better for filling out a form. Software takes care of that. The software also gives two horizontal and two vertical presentations. That was done so extended PC Cards that might have antennas or dongles hanging out of them wouldn’t get in the way of the screen.

We also put key controls to the left and right so the MessagePad accommodates left- or right-handed users. We took the button bar that was silk-screened on the original Newton and put it in software. Users can now change what they want on it. That’s also good for licensees that want a customized user interface for vertical applications.

The MessagePad 2000 was the first Newton you could rotate the screen using software. Perfect for southpaws like me, the MessagePad 2000’s dock would be placed on either the left or right of the screen, and because it was all done in software the dock could be altered to meet the user’s particular preference.

We also designed-in a full-size pen. Most PDAs have very thin styli or telescoping pens–people tend to play with them. We wanted a full-size stylus, but we had to fight for space for it.

We also put a real loudspeaker in, not a piezo speaker. A lot of work went into the 16-bit audio subsystem behind it. It actually runs GSM cellphone compression routines. Several compression engines permit high-quality voice at a low bit rate. That’s handled in realtime using only about 2% of the StrongARM’s processing resources.

No expense was spared adding features that would differentiate the MessagePad 2000 from other PDAs and help it compete with full-featured laptops.

]]>History of the DogcowThomas BrandNotes2015-03-26T10:06:50-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-83http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-83

The dogcow was originally a character in the Cairo font that used to ship with the Macintosh; it was designed by Susan Kare. I had always been interested in this critter ever since I first saw it in the LaserWriter Page Setup Options dialog, sometime during my stint in Apple's Developer Technical Support (DTS) group in 1987. To me it showed perfection in human interface design. With one picture it was very easy to explain concepts like an inverted image or larger print area that otherwise would be nearly impossible to communicate.

His interest soon became an obsession that culminated in the infamous Technote #31, Dogcow clothing, The Official Dogcow Website, and a Clarus flag flying over one of the departments at Apple. You can read more about Mark's obsession with Clarus in History of the Dogcow part one, and part two.]]>Russians to the RescueThomas BrandNotes2015-03-25T18:03:48-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-82http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-82Russians came to the rescue.

A group of programmers in Moscow had written to an Apple engineer they knew, describing some handwriting recognition software they had developed for reading the addresses on envelopes and inquiring if Apple wanted to look at it. The engineer, knowing Eisenstat was interested in the Soviet Union, sent the letter to him.

A few months later in 1990, when Sculley and Eisenstat were getting ready for a trip to meet with top officials in the government of Mikhail Gorbachev, Tesler suggested they look up the programmers. They did, and although their software wasn't all that good, a Russian-speaking Apple engineer along on the trip concluded the ideas they had were sound.

Apple agreed to hook up with the programmers, who called themselves Paragraph, and Eisenstat dropped his major objection. Eventually, the Paragraph software became the heart of Newton's handwriting recognition system.

Soviet technology made Newton possible.]]>Key Lime or Go HomeThomas BrandNotes2015-03-25T08:41:18-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-81http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-81Totally Uncool podcast with Joe Macirowski, and Jessica Dennis. We talked about every old Mac thing we could think of in the time span of an hour. From the outrageous price of G3 iBooks on ebay, to the longevity of CricketGraph, the mighty Macintosh IIfx, and almost every modern Mac with a PowerPC processor. Enjoy!]]>The First Apple TabletThomas BrandNotes2015-03-24T08:23:12-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-80http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-80first Apple tablet.

Way back before programs like Photoshop roamed the earth, creating pictures on computers was far from a straightforward process. To make things a little bit easier, Apple released a Graphics Tablet in 1979 which enabled users to draw on the tablet with a wired stylus pen and transfer those creations over to their computer. The original asking price? $650

And from Apple's own marketing material:

The Apple Graphics Tablet turns your Apple II system into an artist’s canvas. The tablet offers an exciting medium with easy to use tools and techniques for creating and displaying pictured/pixelated?? information. When used with the Utopia Graphics Tablet System, the number of creative alternatives available to you multiplies before your eyes.

The Utopia Graphics Tablet System includes a wide array of brush types for producing original shapes and functions, and provides 94 color options that can generate 40 unique brush shades. The Utopia Graphics Tablet provides a very easy way to create intricate designs, brilliant colors, and animated graphics.

The Apple Graphics tablet looks a lot cooler now than it actually was. Still looking back, in 1979 it was one of the only ways to get graphics into a computer. Making it a must have accessory for any Apple II owner.]]>Boot Camp Drops Support for Windows 7Thomas BrandNotes2015-03-20T18:12:48-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-79http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-79MacRumors reports Apple Stops Supporting Windows 7 in Boot Camp on New MacBook Pro, MacBook Air Models.

Apple's newly refreshed MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro models no longer support running Windows 7 with Boot Camp, according to Apple's Boot Camp support document. Boot Camp on the new notebooks only works with Windows 8 or later, so it is impossible to use Boot Camp to install Windows 7 on the machines.

For those unfamiliar with Boot Camp, it is Apple's software designed to allow Mac users to install Microsoft Windows on their machines.

It comes as no surprise Apple is dropping support for Windows 7, a six year old operating system. That being said it is still possible to install Windows 7 on the newest MacBooks.

The Boot Camp Assistant does three things:

Creates a Windows Installer on a USB Flash Drive

Downloads the latest Windows support software and drivers from Apple

Adds a Windows partition to your Mac

All of these tasks can completed without help from the Boot Camp Assistant. The hard part is finding compatible drivers for all of your Mac's third-party components. The new Force Touch trackpad may never be supported, but the rest of the drivers are out there on the web just as long as Windows 7 remains popular.]]>Wireless DiagnosticsThomas BrandNotes2015-03-19T16:05:05-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-78http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-78Dan Moren, writing for Six Colors, divulges the secret for discovering the best Wi-Fi channel using OS X's built-in Wireless Diagnostics.

This will open up a window with a detailed amount of information about all the Wi-Fi networks in your vicinity, along with suggestions for the best 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels. Channel selection tends to be more of an issue with 2.4GHz networks, which have far fewer channels than 5GHz, and many of which overlap in terms of which parts of the wireless spectrum they actually use.

Mac OS X includes a large assortment of utilities for all sorts of basic diagnostics.]]>Bringing the Internet to a Classic MacThomas BrandNotes2015-03-18T18:38:09-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-77http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-77details the trials and tribulations he endured bringing the Internet to his twenty year old Macintosh.

The first snag I encountered was right when I attempted to insert the motherboard with the attached Ethernet card back inside the Colour Classic. The top edge of the card, in fact, collided with a piece of plastic inside the Mac’s chassis that helps to keep the cables of the hard drive power connector in place. I took measurements and, not without difficulty, managed to cut away exactly where the plastic was blocking the card’s passage. Once firmly inserted the motherboard, I turned the Colour Classic on. The Mac booted normally, but there was no video. Suspicions fell immediately on the new card. Since the system had no way of recognising it, I thought, perhaps it defaulted to thinking that a video card was inserted in the Comm Slot, so it shut down internal video and expected an external connection. I had to make the system recognise the card.

You might think Riccardo cheated by using the motherboard from a newer Macintosh, but what difference does it make when you are surfing the web on a Mac running System 7.5 and a browser from 1992. ]]>The Safe MacThomas BrandNotes2015-03-18T18:18:16-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-76http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-76David Sparks on a new Mac security website, TheSafeMac.com.

Recently, I've seen an increasing number of emails from readers and listeners that stumbled into Adware on their Macs. Interestingly, the bad guys are not just distributing these things through bit torrent and porn sites (as they used to) but instead they are infecting users with "helpful" utilities. Usually it involves a user hitting a website with a pop up that explains it just scanned their system (it didn't) and there are big problems (there aren't) and offers to speed up their Macs with some utility or cleaning application they'll conveniently install with one click. The user clicks, enters their system password, and they are hosed.

I too have noticed the same disturbing increase in Macintosh malware from my position of Lead Mac Genius at MIT. AdwareMedic has been particularly helpful at removing the threats, and beats hunting them down manually any day. If you find AdwareMedic useful, I suggest you donate.]]>Buy it BackThomas BrandNotes2015-03-18T17:49:27-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-75http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-75buying back NetNewsWire.

I’d still be interested in buying it back, but I strongly suspect this is off the table, or so expensive that it wouldn’t make sense. (The expensive part isn’t the code, it’s the name.)

What I would have done with it: Mac version only. Syncing would be via Feedly, Feedbin, etc.

The idea is that it would be easy to get into — since it would sync with something you’re probably already using — and it would be easy to mix-and-match. You could run NetNewsWire on your Mac and Unread on your iPhone. (I use Unread: I’m a fan. There are other good readers, too.)

NetNewsWire was my RSS reader of choice for almost ten years. I have remained patient waiting for a new version, but recently turned to Leaf for my newsreader needs.

It turns out sync is not that important. If I find an article I want to read later, I send it to Instapaper. Otherwise I just pickup my feeds where I left off.

I think Brent already knows this. No need to build a big elaborate sync system. Newsreading should be about the reading experience.]]>The Lack of MagSafeThomas BrandNotes2015-03-17T08:34:24-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-74http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-74lack of MagSafe in the new MacBook.

I’m sure you could all tell me a great many stories of the times you were charging your iPhone, or iPad, and set it down, only to trip over the cable and send the device crashing to the ground. Horror ensuing. AppleCare being used.

Actually, wait, that’s never happened to me. I’m guessing it hasn’t happened to me, because the simple fact is that most people charge their phones at night while they sleep and charge their iPads even more infrequently than that.

And that’s how the new MacBook is meant to be charged and used. It’s for people that won’t use their computer enough in one day to kill the battery, so you simply change how you use a computer. Instead of charging it every chance you get, you charge it at night while you sleep. And that’s it.

Ben gets it. If people treat the new MacBook like an iPhone, use it all day and charge it at night, the security MagSafe provides doesn't seem that important.

It should also be noted that MacSafe introduces dangers not found on conventional ports like USB Type-C. For instance MagSafe's magnetic properties can attract debris like staples, that when lodged in the MagSafe port can short out the computer. As a Mac Genius I have replaced more than one logic board damaged by this phenomenon. A costly mistake that can cause the affected few to scrutinize their MagSafe ports before every use. Not the kind of attention you want to pay to your portable computer.]]>Bad TouchThomas BrandNotes2015-03-16T11:53:03-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-73http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-73

Earlier this year I wanted to buy a light weight notebook computer for writing on the train. I had the option of getting a PC, because I write in VIM, and work in a mixed environment. The only thing holding me back from buying a Dell or ThinkPad wasn’t the superior specs or even the lower price, it was the disappointing trackpad. I ended up buying an 11-inch MacBook Air instead.

I have been spoiled by Apple’s Multi-Touch trackpads. First introduced in late 2008 with the release of the unibody MacBook Pro, the Multi-Touch trackpad set a standard for notebook input devices that no PC manufacturer could match. Now, over six years later, the durable glass surface, and ever expanding array of multitouch gestures continues to set the MacBook apart. Apple’s trackpad, more than OS X, or the Macs superior design is the reason why I keep buying MacBooks.

This weekend I had the opportunity to try out the new Force Touch trackpad on the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. The sensation of a physical click is so good I had to turn the computer off, disabling the haptic engine, just to make sure I was using the new trackpad. With the MacBook Pro turned off the trackpad doesn’t move. (Clicking on it gives you the same sensation as pressing on the palmrest.) But after turning the MacBook back on, clicking the trackpad gives you the same sensation as the old trackpad where the surface is depressed. Dr. Drang calls this sensation tactile illusion, and it is caused by electromagnets in the haptic engine rapidly shaking the trackpad in a lateral motion. I call it another reason to buy a Mac.

Apple didn’t design the new Force Touch Trackpad just so that it could fit into a thinner Mac. Using the built-in software you can adjust the force of the new trackpad’s click without turning a screw. The entire surface of the trackpad registers clicks equally, no need to hunt along the trackpad’s lower edge. And because the new trackpad can sense the force of your touch, there are all sorts of tricks you can do in software depending on how hard your press.

After the release of the Force Touch trackpad it is going to be hard to take any other notebook computer seriously. My sympathy to anyone PC users whose trackpad keeps giving them the “bad touch.”

]]>USB Type-C Power Adapter PossibilitiesThomas BrandNotes2015-03-14T11:37:39-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-72http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-72Apple's Spring Forward MacBook announcement. Not because of the new MacBook's less than impressive specs, or lack of a second USB port. No, I am disappointed by a innovative design opportunity Apple left on the table. The promise of a USB Type-C laptop power adapter that does more than just power the computer.

Think of your standard MacBook Air power adapter. Now think of the new $79.00 USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter Apple makes for use with the new MacBook. The USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter gives you access to HDMI and USB Type-A, alongside a passthrough USB Type-C connection. Why couldn't the functionality of the AV Multiport Adapter be included in the power adapter? After all they both use the same connection to interface with the new MacBook.

Imagine your new ultralight MacBook with a single USB Type-C port, and all day battery life. Now imagine the Apple Multiport AV Power Adapter you leave at your desk. It is the USB hub that connects your office keyboard, mouse, and wired ethernet connection. It is the AV adapter that drives your large 27-inch desktop monitor. After your all day battery expires, you connect it to your new MacBook with a single USB Type-C connector. Via that simple connection your MacBook becomes a desktop workstation. You are on the wires network, your are using your mouse and keyboard, the image of your desktop is projected on the large 27-inch display. You can close the lid of your MacBook and forget you are using a laptop at all. You hear nothing, because there is no fan.

By not including more capabilities in the power adapter, Apple missed the opportunity to make their new MacBook more functional both out on the road, and back at the desk. Now that power is no longer a proprietary connection on the new MacBook, I hope other companies will take this opportunity after Apple did not.

Third-party power adapters that are also desktop laptop docks. Projectors that provide power as well as video, audio, and USB. A new kind of computer monitor that provides all of the external capabilities of an iMac when plug your new MacBook to charge. The options are endless, and sound a lot more exciting than a $79 piece of plastic. ]]>What Can You Force Click?Thomas BrandNotes2015-03-12T07:09:47-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-71http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-71everything your can Force Click today.

Look up: Force click text in a webpage or Mail message and a popover appears showing you Look up results for that text. Information appears from sources like Dictionary, Wikipedia, and more.

Addresses: Force click an address to see a Maps preview.

Events: Force click dates and events to add them to Calendar.

Link previews: Force click a link in Safari or Mail to see an inline preview of the webpage.

Tracking numbers: Force click a tracking number in Safari or Mail to see shipping details in a popover.

File icons: Force click a file icon to see a Quick Look preview of it.

File names: Force click a file name in the Finder or on your desktop to let you edit the file name.

Dock: Force click an app icon in the Dock to access App Exposé. This shows you all of your open windows for that app.

Mail: When composing a message with an image or PDF attachment in it, Force click the image to activate Markup. This lets you annotate the attachment.

Messages: Force click a conversation in the sidebar to see details and attachments. Force click a buddy’s token in the chat header to see their contact card in a popover.

Reminders: Force click a reminder to see a details inspector.

Calendar: Force click an existing event to see a details inspector. Force click a meeting attendee to see their contact card in a popover.

Map locations: Force click a location in a map to drop a pin there.

iMovie: When your iMovie project has an animated Map or Globe, you can Force click the map in the Timeline to access a Style menu. This lets you choose from four different styles.

QuickTime and iMovie: You can vary the pressure you use on fast-forward and rewind buttons. This will accelerate the speed at which you fast forward or rewind.

iMovie: When dragging a video clip to its maximum length, you’ll get feedback letting you know you’ve hit the end of the clip. Add a title and you’ll get feedback as the title snaps into position at the beginning or end of a clip. Subtle feedback is also provided with the alignment guides that appear in the Viewer when cropping clips.

Map zooming: Press harder on a zoom button to accelerate as you zoom in an out of a map.

As more Macs with Force Touch trackpads are released and more developers start to take advantage of the new Force Touch APIs, we will see even more functionality in our apps and system software.

I still miss the days when Macs only had one mouse button, and every user interaction could be explained with a click. Force Click brings us even further away from that level of ease-of-use, but I must admit it is the most exciting user interface feature to come to software since the arrival of multitouch.

I especially like this little complication.

Your Force Touch trackpad doesn't click when your computer is off. When you press the power key, your trackpad and keyboard become active after the startup tone. Your trackpad needs power to provide "haptic feedback" like clicking. When you turn your computer off, you turn off the trackpad too.

The following applications and services can use enhanced Notifications features as described below. These work as long as your computer is connected to the Internet and not connected to an external display.

MessagesMessages can wake your computer from sleep to notify you when you receive a message. This feature works when your computer's lid is open.

FaceTimeFaceTime can wake your computer from sleep when you receive a FaceTime video or audio call. This feature works when your computer's lid is open. Learn more about using FaceTime with your Mac and iOS devices.

Social networkingServices like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Sina Weibo can wake your sleeping computer to receive and display messages. This feature works when your computer's lid is open.

Game CenterGame Center can wake your computer from sleep when you receive a Game Center invitation to play or notification that it's your turn. This feature works when your computer's lid is open.

Back to My MacWhen your computer is plugged into AC power, Back to My Mac can find and make your computer available for remote access. This feature works on your Mac when it's sleeping even if the lid is closed. Also, you no longer need to use an Airport Base Station or a sleep proxy. Learn more about Back to My Mac.

Find My MacFind My Mac lets you play an audible tone on your sleeping computer even if the lid is closed. You can also locate your Mac, lock it remotely, or erase the data on the internal drive. Learn more about Find my Mac.

I don't know if this is a new feature or not, but I haven't seen it listed anywhere. The logical evolution of Power Nap coming to new Mac hardware going forward.]]>Dongle SchemeThomas BrandNotes2015-03-11T19:31:04-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-69http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-69MacBook in 2015, you get the computer, 29W USB-C Power Adapter, and USB-C Charge Cable. In contrast, if you purchased the 12-inch PowerBook G4 in 2004, you got the computer, power adapter, cord, modem cable, Mini-DVI to DVI display adapter, and Mini-DVI to VGA display adapter (not to mention a printed manual, restore DVDs, and polishing cloth). Even the original MacBook Air from 2008 came with both a Micro-DVI to DVI display adapter, and Micro-DVI to VGA display adapter in the box.

You might not use the modem cable, or both of the video adapters, but Apple provided those dongles free-of-charge because dialup networking, and hooking your computer up to a external display was part of the PowerBook G4's specifications. Easy Internet setup and multimedia playback were reasons for getting a Mac.

Today's MacBooks ships with the bare essentials. And it is criminal that a brand new MacBook can't connect with almost any USB peripherals out-of-the-box. You need to buy a $19.00 USB-C to USB Adapter, or the $79.00 USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter to do that. I say what gives Apple? Is the MacBook the computer for the rest of us, or a scheme to sell white USB dongles starting at $19.00 a piece?]]>The Death of Thunderbolt?Thomas BrandNotes2015-03-11T15:20:01-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-68http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-68Ever since Apple's Monday Spring Forward event and the release of the new USB Type C Connector MacBook, people have been asking about the future of Thunderbolt; Apple's previous all-in-wonder solution for high speed I/O.

Beyond the immediate dongle-related ramifications, the new MacBook also makes me wonder if Apple is looking at a future without the DisplayPort/Thunderbolt connector. While DisplayPort can be carried over the Type C connector (once someone releases the appropriate dongle, anyway), neither Apple or Intel have yet announced whether there'll be a USB Alternate Mode that allows for Thunderbolt-over-USB. This is the first Apple laptop or desktop to ship without a Thunderbolt port since the technology was introduced in 2011. As Apple shaves a few millimeters off future versions of the MacBook Air and Pro, will the Thunderbolt port live on?

Skylake, the successor to Intel's Broadwell platform, will support Thunderbolt 3, which introduces a smaller connector. Maybe this first-gen MacBook just falls at an odd time, where Apple wants to keep Thunderbolt going, but doesn't have the right port for it yet.

Apple's new MacBook won't be the first portable Mac with an unusual one-off connector. The original 2008 MacBook Air shipped with a proprietary Micro-DVI port, that was never used in any computer ever again. That being said USB Type C is not a proprietary connector. And even if a micro Thunderbolt 3 connector is in Apple's future, the popularity of Thunderbolt will never overtake the exploding popularity of USB Type C.

I predict Thunderbolt, like FireWire, and SCSI before it, will retain a position on high-end computer workstations. The rest of us will just have to get used to USB Type C, and carrying a bunch of dongles around in our pockets.]]>New MacBook, No Removable StorageThomas BrandNotes2015-03-10T10:48:26-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-67http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-67MacBook is the first Mac notebook without a fan. Its logic board is one third the size of the logic board in the 13-inch MacBook Air. Like its predecessor the new "MacBook features 8GB of fast, power-efficient 1600MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory." Unlike its predecessor the new MacBook is the first Mac without removable storage. That's right, the "up to 512 GB PCIe-based flash storage" is soldered to the board.

If your new MacBook stops booting, and you do not have a backup, your data is lost. (In fact the only parts that look like they can be replaced are the display, logic board, and top case.) If you are planning on buying a new MacBook, I would suggest getting a AirPort Time Capsule, or a cloud-based backup subscription. You are going to need it.]]>New MacBook with Retina DisplayThomas BrandNotes2015-03-10T09:20:26-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-66http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-66thoughts on the new MacBook with Retina Display.

As it stands today, the 13-inch MacBook Air is a better machine in lots of critical ways like CPU and RAM options. Can the fanless MacBook ever catch up and offer something equivalent to i5s and i7s found in the Airs these days? I can’t help but think it can, and at some point, the lines will merge. Until then, there are a lot of great Apple notebooks in the sub-$1500 space, and even though my needs couldn’t be met by the new MacBook, it doesn’t keep me from wanting one.

I agree with Stephen, the 13-inch MacBook Air is a better machine. But just like the original MacBook Air from 2008, this new MacBook will become the future of Apple's notebook design.

Who should buy the new MacBook today? If the price was lower, I am sure the new MacBook would appeal to a lot of people. But as of today it is more expensive than the even more capable 13-inch MacBook Air; especially when you include the price of the $79 required adapter. The new MacBook is not a practical computer. It is an object of lust for the budget-minded, and a status symbol for those with an expendable income. (I am sure the gold model will become popular within such circles.)

It is true, all of this could have been said about the release of the original MacBook Air in 2008. The only difference is that today's MacBook is not that much thinner than the MacBook Air it replaced, and comes with far fewer ports than every other Mac that has proceeded it. ]]>The Oldest Mac Running TenFourFoxThomas BrandNotes2015-03-09T10:03:53-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-65http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-65the oldest Mac running TenFourFox.

The Power Macintosh 9500 was an incredible computer. It started out with a 120 MHz PowerPC 604 running System 7.5.2 in 1995, but could later be upgraded with two 180 MHz PowerPC 604e CPUs, or even a third-party PowerPC G4; making the it the oldest computer capable of running Mac OS X.]]>Jony Ive's NewtonThomas BrandNotes2015-03-09T08:18:14-04:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-64http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-64Jony Ive's first big assignment at Apple; designing the Newton MessagePad 110.

Jony’s first big assignment at Apple was to design the second-generation Newton MessagePad. The first Newton hadn’t yet been released, but the design team already hated it. Thanks to a rushed production schedule, the first model had some serious flaws that Apple’s executives, as well as the designers, were eager to fix.

“The problem with the first Newton was that it didn’t relate to people’s everyday lives,” Jony said. “It didn’t offer a metaphor that users could grasp.” He set about fixing that

Jony designed a clever, spring-loaded latch mechanism; when you pressed the lid, it popped open. The mechanism depended on a tiny copper spring carefully calibrated to give just the right amount of pop. To allow the lid to clear any expansion cards in the slot on top, Jony created a double hinge to allow the lid to clear any obstructions. When the lid was open, it flipped up and over the back to be stored out of the way. That conveyed something to the user too. “Pushing the lid up and around the back was important because the action is not culturally specific,” Jony noted at the time.

By developing the "reporter's notebook" design for the MessagePad 110, Ive communicated what the Newton was supposed to be long before the Newton's creators ever could]]>Apple's New ConciergeThomas BrandNotes2015-03-06T08:33:01-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-63http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-63Apple's new Concierge Genius Bar reservation system:

This new program, spearheaded by Retail Senior Vice President Angela Ahrendts, moves away from the classic appointment model. Instead, a customer describes the issue to an Apple Store employee, who inputs the issue into an updated iPad application. Using a special algorithm, the application provides the customer a wait time based on issue priorities. For example, a customer seeking an iPhone screen replacement will automatically be placed higher in the queue than a customer seeking help with a minor iCloud issue.

The customer then provides a phone number, which Apple uses to send three text messages with wait time updates:

An initial text message confirming the Genius Bar request and providing the wait time

A text message telling the customer to start heading back to the Apple Store

A final text message telling the customer that their technician is ready to help and where they can be located in the store

In the early days, there wasn’t an appointment system or staff reserved for certain types of devices. The Genius team was just there, in the back of the store, ready to take whatever came their way.

That was the Concierge system I worked under when I was a Mac Genius in 2003. I am just surprised it took Apple so long to incorporate the technology already in everybody's pockets.]]>Be Your Own GeniusThomas BrandNotes2015-03-06T08:11:26-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-62http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-62writing for 512 Pixels, about the steps you can take to be your own Mac Genius.

No one likes visiting the Genius Bar.

If you are going there it’s because something is wrong with your Apple product and depending on the time of day, you could be waiting for a while to see a Genius. Some wait all of that time just to ask a simple question, but others may need a repair and can be without their Mac for a couple of days or more. As a former Mac Genius (like Stephen is), I’d like to try to save you a trip to the Bar — but first you must become your own Genius.

All good tips. If there is anything that will save you time at the Genius Bar, it is being an informed customer.]]>MacBook Pro Repair Extension ProgramThomas BrandNotes2015-03-06T07:48:23-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-61http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-61

Apple has determined that a small percentage of MacBook Pro systems may exhibit distorted video, no video, or unexpected system restarts. These MacBook Pro systems were sold between February 2011 and December 2013.

An affected MacBook Pro may display one or more of the following symptoms:

Distorted or scrambled video on the computer screen

No video on the computer screen (or external display) even though the computer is on

Computer restarts unexpectedly

Affected product include.

15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models manufactured in 2011

15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina models manufactured from Mid 2012 to Early 2013

I have repaired a number of these computers for Apple customers. Luckily the repair process is simple; a quick logic board replacement. If you have an eligible MacBook experiencing one of these issues, or have paid to have this issue repaired in the past I suggest you contact Apple.]]>iOS Has No Backup FeatureThomas BrandNotes2015-03-06T07:07:16-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-60http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-60John Gordon explains:

Yeah, I hear your scoff, but iCloud Backup is not Backup. It’s a system clone. If you delete Contacts accidentally, you can’t readily restore Contacts of, say, 3 days before. When my sister accidentally deleted most of her contacts she had no way to restore them from iCloud.

If your data only exists in iOS and iCloud, it might as well not exist at all.]]>Last Mini StoreThomas BrandNotes2015-02-19T11:47:27-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-59http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-59Apple is closing it’s last Mini Store.

The Oakridge store—and five others—opened October 16, 2004, and all occupied a similar size—587 square-feet in the case of Oakridge, or about one-fifth as big as full-size stores of the time. The mini-stores were born of one goal and one realization. First, Apple wanted to extend the span of their retail initiative into more new territories, increasing the percentage of Americans who were within 15 minutes of an Apple store. Just as important, then-Sr. VP Ron Johnson said the company analyzed revenue and store sizes, and learned that smaller stores generated nearly the same revenue of larger stores, but with less construction, lease and and maintenance costs.

I was a Mac Genius when the first Mini Store opened in 2004. At 30 feet wide (the typical Apple Store was 45 feet wide), I already thought my store was cramped. I can’t imagine working in a closet store for over ten years.

At the time tipsters said there were plans for more mini-stores, including at alternative locations like airports and universities. However, no additional mini-stores ever opened beyond the original nine. By November 2008 the first of the mini-stores (Bridgewater, NJ) was converted to full-size. It’s taken over six more years to move the remaining minis into full-size spaces because of a scarcity of appropriate mall spaces.

It would have been fun to see more Apple Stores in more out-of-the-way places, but as Apple’s popularity exploded the limited capacity of the mini Store was no longer a viable option.]]>SnowesmiteThomas BrandNotes2015-02-11T17:06:28-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-58http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-58looking through rose colored glasses when we compare the reliability of Mac OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard to OS X 10.10.2 Yosemite.

The reason people have such fond memories of Snow Leopard is because they are colored by the end of its life and not its beginnings. But it’s hardly fair to compare 10.6.8 to 10.10.0 or even 10.10.2 (that just came out last week). I do think it’s a fair criticism that upgrades started coming faster with Lion. Snow Leopard came out August 28, 2009. Lion came out July 20, 2011 nearly two years later. However Mountain Lion came out July 25, 2012, only a year later. It’s been around a year for each release since. That is we no longer have the stability of a year with a solid mature OS with most of the major bugs fixed.

Clark includes a long lists of bugs found in early versions of Snow Leopard to back up his claim.

Remember, no one is forcing you to upgrade to the latest version of OS X. If you want a more reliable operating system now, stick with Mavericks, and upgrade to Yosemite next year after all of the bugs are worked out.]]>Genius Bar LogosThomas BrandNotes2015-02-11T11:44:13-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-57http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-57removing the historic Genius Bar logos from its retail stores.

An original and significant element of Apple’s retail stores is disappearing. Over the past month workers have been removing the “atom” symbol that has pinpointed the Genius Bars since the first store opened in 2001, and they are replacing it with wall graphics to match those recently installed in back-lit wall displays. The Corte Madera (N. Calif.) store was the latest to make the change. The symbol was based on the chemistry depiction of an atom, meant to signify “genius.”

I worked under the historic Genius Bar logo for over three years. I always though it was classy and elegant, even if the title of “Genius” was a little much. I will be sad to see it go.]]>Powerful Newton APIsThomas BrandNotes2015-02-04T09:49:05-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-56http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-56the Newton’s powerful APIs.

I was a Newton programmer for a few years writing medical records software. The persistent storage solution on the newton was really wonderful. I remember working with it very fondly. It was my first real job as a professional programmer. Our company made versions of our software for Newton and Windows CE. We only had one Newton engineer (me) and many Windows engineers. I was always able to keep the newton product ahead of CE despite working alone because of the tremendously powerful APIs of the Newton. Even a year after cancelation our Newton software was far outselling the Windows version. I am a professional software developer today because I truly fell in love with the Newton and I like to think that a little bit of the design philosophy of the Newton rubbed off on me.

The Newton was never marketshare leader in units sold, or the number of developers required to support the platform.]]>Missing the ZipThomas BrandNotes2015-02-04T14:21:45-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-55http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-55remembers the Zip Disk.

A little over 20 years ago, however, when Iomega introduced the original 100MB Zip disk, that was staggeringly huge for a removable disk. The wildly more common 3.5-inch floppies held 1.4MB. For context, the entry-level PowerBook 150, introduced in the same year, had a 120MB hard disk, and the base configurations of even 1994’s server Macs came with hard disks that were only five times the capacity of the Zip disk.

The Zip disk was popular because it was small and cheap.In the late 90’s it was the Air Jordan’s of the Sneakernet. But by the mid 2000’s, USB flash drives were smaller, CD-Rs were even cheaper, and both could store more data.

I made sure to purchase a 250 MB Zip drive with my Power Mac G4 in the summer of 2001. The Zip Disk was the standard mechanism of file transfer in the design industry, and I did not want to be left behind. I can’t remember using that Zip drive very much. By the time I was out of art school the whole industry had moved over to USB flash drives and rewritable CDs.]]>FileVault Deferred EnablementThomas BrandNotes2015-02-04T14:20:06-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-54http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-54powerful new FileVault features in OS X Yosemite.

Apple recognized that there would be situations where Mac admins would need to set up FileVault 2 for a person where the admin would not have the password for that person’s user account. To avoid the immediate need to enter a password, fdesetup has a -defer flag in Mountain Lion, Mavericks and Yosemite that can be used with fdesetup‘s enable verb to delay enabling FileVault 2 until after the current (or next) user logs out. With the -defer flag, the user will be prompted for their password at their next logout or restart. The recovery key information is not generated until the user password is obtained, so the -defer option requires a file location where this information will be written to as a plist file.

The new commands allow system administrators to enforce FileVault 2 at login and logout with the use of both institutional and personal recovery keys.]]>Newton StorageThomas BrandNotes2015-02-03T23:51:20-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-53http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-53But it wasn’t always this way. Landon Dyer, Newton developer, on why the Newton needed a strong storage system.

One afternoon Michael Culbert, the Newton Technologist, came into my office to discuss battery contact bounce. I’d been nervous about the robustness of the storage system and had talked with him about it before, and now he confirmed my worst fears. Battery contact bounce is the jiggling of the power connectors when you toss a device onto a hard surface; the device can easily momentarily lose power and reset, and if the Newton was in the middle of a storage update all the data would be lost.

In order to fight battery contact bounce, and other forms of data corruption, Landon came up with a transaction-based storage system for the Newton. Here’s how it worked:

Imagine that you have a notepad entry, with a bunch of text. The NewtonScript storage layer breaks up the notes into a bunch of small objects, including the text itself, plus some extra objects for searching. There are objects containing structures that allow the text to be quickly searched, and so on.

Now say your original note was, “Buy milk,” and that you add “Bread, too!” to it. What the Newton does is create a whole set of shadow objects, just like the old ones but with your changes applied. Then, with a single write to a single byte somewhere in the store the storage system commits your changes, then goes back and deletes the outdated objects.

If the power fails before the commit point, the Newton just deletes the new objects and you haven’t lost much work (you just have to remember to buy bread). If the power fails after the commit point, the Newton just ensures that all of the old objects have been gotten rid of (so it can re-use the space they take up).

This sounds simple in principle, but in fact it’s quite difficult to get correct. Additionally, the flash storage we were using had the amusing characteristic that bits could go bad, which is a little like having to design a car with an engine that might lose a gear or two and still have to maintain freeway speeds without the driver even noticing.

Due to Landon’s efforts I can’t say my Newton has ever lost data, or thrown a gear while driving at highway speeds.

Today, even with the benefits of desktop sync and cloud backup, we still take the integrity of our devices’ data for granted. The Newton, although often remembered as a failure, did bring the reliability of handwritten notes to our digital world. As for the original PalmPilot, well you just had to hope there was a up-to-date HotSync before your batteries ran out.]]>Newton Vs. AllThomas BrandNotes2015-02-01T13:02:36-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-52http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-52Phil Gyford attempts to answer the age old question, which is mightier the stylus, the pen, or virtual keyboard?

For some time I’ve been meaning to test my small collection of PDA/smartphone gadgets to see which of their methods of input was quickest. The iPhone’s software keyboard? The Newton’s handwriting recognition? Palm’s Graffiti?

Here is what Phil had to say about the Newton.

This method was easier than I expected and it felt like it was as quick as handwriting recognition could be — there is some delay in translating my scribble into text, but it’s no slower than the speed of my writing, so the device didn’t get behind. Once I got into it, correcting mistakes was also easy: tapping a word brings up alternative spellings and capitalisation, and one further tap away are two ways to manually correct the characters.

Here is what Phil has to say about the Palm.

In theory this simpler method is less error-prone than having to interpret normal handwriting, although I remember that even when I was using the Vx every day I found it at least as frustrating. Small mistakes mean letters are mis-interpreted and, then and now, I was forever having my ‘Y’s appear as ‘X’s.

The results are not far off from what I expected. I still feel he could have done better with the Newton, and the Palm given more practice. Read the full account to find out which handwriting recognition method came in first.]]>Five Things WrongThomas BrandNotes2015-02-01T09:54:22-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-51http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-51Landon Dyer, Newton developer, gives us five reasons why the Newton failed compared to the Palm Pilot.

Ultimately the Newton was a market failure. If you look at the competition at the time we did maybe five things wrong that the other guys got right or chose not to try to address:

One. Price point. The Newton was about a thousand dollars. Ouch. The Palm Pilot was about $300.

The Newton’s technical advantages worked against it when competing against the Palm, that had many of the same features but sold for a third of the price.

Two. Form factor. The Newton was large and weighed about a pound. The other guy fit in a shirt pocket.

Before creating the Palm Pilot, Jeff Hawkins whittled down a piece of wood and carried it around in his shirt pocket in order to approximate the size and weight of his future digital assistant. While the Newton’s technical advantages gave it unnecessary bulk compared to its competitors. The Palm Pilot was just more portable in a time when mobility over specs mattered.

Three. Handwriting recognition wasn’t quite there (and the production Newton had a digitizer noise issue that we found out about only later that Fall, which dramatically reduced the recognition rate). The Pilot used a much more primitive letter-by-letter system, but people got it and it worked well after a little training.

The beauty of Graffiti, the Palm’s letter recognition system, “is that is doesn’t work like handwriting recognition. It actually works like a keyboard.” It is easier to get people to write in a way a computer can read, than get a computer to read the way people write. The Palm Pilot made the most of limited technology. Although the Newton’s handwriting recognition got better, it was always trying to decipher bad handwriting, something even us humans have a hard time reading.No wonder it got a bad rap.

Four. No real apps … and you had to pay Apple a commission. For a totally new platform, charging your developers to develop software is an uphill battle. (Of course, all this changed with the iPhone, but the demand was very high). The commission idea was just another stupid and reality-disconnected idea from upper management; instead of attracting developers (who already had to pony up over a thousand bucks for a dev kit) I think it discouraged folks from even considering developing for the Newton.

Combine that with the fact that most software was distributed via expensive PCMCIA card, and syncing software between the computer and Newton was complicated.Without a viable software distribution model, and a flourishing development community, the Newton didn’t stand a chance.

Developing on the Pilot was a lot like programming a 68000-based Mac, and pretty familiar to many programmers, while NewtonScript was something from another world (even if it did have many cool aspects).

Five. The “MessagePad” wasn’t all that good at actually messaging anything. It was awkward to connect a Newton to anything (via a cable or PCMCIA card), and the modes of communication were either inconvenient or expensive (wireless pay-by-the-kilobyte). The Newton was about 15 years ahead of the technology curve here.

One of the miracles of the Palm Pilot was the reliability and ease of use of the out-of-box HotSync. The Newton came with a lot of features advertised on its box, faxing, beaming, emailing, and placing phone calls, but often those tasks were obstructed by the purchase of additional hardware and the required complication of the day.

What might have hurt the Newton most of all was the “magic date” for which it was released.

The Newton probably needed another three months or so of bake time before we shipped it. By November or so we’d patched nearly all of the software issues that critics (rightly) complained about, and I like to think that the reception would have been much kinder if we’d worked just a little longer.

John Sculley insisted on a strict ship date for the Newton, because he saw the project falling behind. Ship dates are important. They help constrain feature creep. But releasing the Newton before it was ready, gave the Newton a poor reputation. The rest is Egg Freckles.]]>Product Wide ViewThomas BrandNotes2015-01-31T14:07:54-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-50http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-50looking back at some of the Newont’s design decisions in contrast with the Palm Pilot.

Yeah. I bent heaven and earth and did some of the longest hours in my career making the Newton’s storage system bulletproof from crashes and other failures, while Palm’s solution was to make it really easy for the Pilot to talk to a PC (whereupon you got backups of that data we were trying to protect AND you got a communications story that didn’t utterly suck).

That was a valuable lesson: Even coders at the coal face of your product need to have a product-wide view.

It is ironic that the Newton MessagePad “wasn’t all that good at actually messaging anything. It was awkward to connect a Newton to anything (via a cable or PCMCIA card), and the modes of communication were either inconvenient or expensive (wireless pay-by-the-kilobyte). The Newton was about 15 years ahead of the technology curve here.”

Simple desktop sync is just one area where the original Palm Pilot got it right.]]>Install Command Line ToolsThomas BrandNotes2015-01-31T14:06:02-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-49http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-49

The Command Line Tool package gives terminal users many commonly used tools, utilities, and compilers, including make, GCC, clang, perl, svn, git, size, strip, strings, libtool, cpp, what, and many other useful commands that are usually found in default linux installations. We’ve included the full list of new binaries available through the command line toolkit below for those interested.

Installing the Command Line Tools is simple. Just enter the following command into the Terminal and press return.

xcode-select --install

A downloadable installer is also available. Now you are just one step closer to running Homebrew, my favorite OS X package manager.]]>Cute eMateThomas BrandNotes2015-01-31T11:12:00-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-48http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-48writing for Macworld, about his admiration for the eMate 300.

Regardless, there’s something so charismatic and captivating about the eMate. It looms so large in the mind because it’s such a peculiar and weirdly awesome little machine with such a mix of idiosyncratic innovations. The “inkwells” into which you could rest the stylus (one on each side so it didn’t matter if you were right- or left-handed), the Assist button, the ability to quickly beam work to teachers or other students wirelessly using infra-red, a slide-out panel on the bottom where you could write your name and address, that handle that foreshadowed the iBook’s (and which I’d welcome on even a modern Mac), and, wrapping everything, that weird, wonderful translucent emerald.

I have always been a MessagePad fan myself, but there is something adhering about Apple’s first translucent computer.]]>Debugging the NewtonThomas BrandNotes2015-01-29T10:10:05-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-47http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-47Dad Hacker, Landon Dyer, debugs a dead Newton before the screen initializes, and without a serial connection.

So I wrote some loops of ARM assembly language. The loops didn’t access any memory, didn’t print anything, and they didn’t exit, and didn’t cause any output lines to change. In fact, each of the loops was identical except for their length. I sprinkled them through the boot code and quickly (within about an hour) found the problem (some configuration of stuff in the flash store caused the Newt OS to hurl).

This isn’t a Car Talk puzzler, so I’ll give you the answer right away: Each of the loops had a distinctive sound when I held an AM radio up to the Newton. There was a “high sounding” short loop and a “low sounding” longer one, and by stuffing these into various forks of the boot code I could trace the system’s progress and even shift some data out.

You heard it here first folks. The Newton does AM radio before the iPhone.]]>The Evolution of iOSThomas BrandNotes2015-01-29T10:00:33-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-46http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-46David Chartiar shares The Evolution of iOS, a visual history spanning from iOS 1 to iOS 8.

One of the best renditions of these I've seen. It goes deep, right down to icon comparisons over the years and key feature appearances. Remember when iOS—excuse me: iPhone OS—didn't have copy and paste?

My favorite part? The evolution of system app icons. If you ever forget which version of iOS brought which feature, this poster is the place to turn.]]>The Meaning of iPadThomas BrandNotes2015-01-29T09:06:16-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-45http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-45meaning of iPad, fiver years after its introduction.

I know that a lot of people feel like iPad is an awkward name. At the time the name caused quite a bit of tittering, and even today it doesn’t seem to be particularly loved. But I think it’s the perfect name, because pad—like pod before it—is a word that’s utterly devoid of meaning… until Apple inserts meaning into it. And that’s what the company did on stage in January 2010.

If you want to relive the experience of the iPad unveiling, I suggest you listen to Connected #24.Tthe boys cover all three hours of the original iPad launch keynote, in a style only they can.]]>Quad-Core 2012 Mac Mini Returns?Thomas BrandNotes2015-01-28T20:25:28-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-44http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-44According to MacRumors:

Apple today has mysteriously added back a 2012 model Mac mini to the Apple Online Store for $699. The over two-year-old machine still has the same hardware specifications as it did in 2012, including a 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 4GB of RAM and Intel HD Graphics 4000. The listing also shows that the computer ships with OS X Mavericks installed.

It is unknown if the outdated Mac mini has mistakenly resurfaced on the Apple Online Store, or if Apple intentionally reintroduced the model on its website. One plausible reason that Apple may be making this older Mac mini available for purchase again is to provide customers with a quad-core option, as the existing 2014 models are each powered by dual-core Intel Core i5 processors.

I looks like it was a mistake, but the need for a quad-core Mac mini remains. If anyone is interested in a 2.6 GHz model with a Fusion Drive for let me know. :)]]>Patching the NewtonThomas BrandNotes2015-01-28T11:28:32-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-43http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-43Landon Dyer, who did the driving, explains:

It’s August, 1993, the day before Apple’s Newton MessagePad goes on sale, and overnight we’ve heard that some people who managed to get units ahead of time are having trouble with them, and someone heard that someone said they thought they had a unit whose software wasn’t the right version. There’s a little uncertainty. Since we shipped the final Newton ROM in June we’ve spent all summer fixing bugs and making patches. The patches are applied in the factory, toward the end of the production line, and they fix critical bugs. If the units don’t have these fixes, the Newt won’t work very well.

As the morning progresses it becomes clear that some number of the Newtons that are already at stores and about to be sold either didn’t get patched at the factory, or (worse) are losing their patches in transit. So here I am, cruising around Boston in a crappy rental car, fumbling with maps and getting lost on streets that are not laid out in a grid. It’s also about 90 degrees and humid, reminding me of why I don’t live on the east coast any more.

In contrast today's game consoles can be updated instantly over the Internet, but require hours of updates straight-out-of-the-box.]]>Yosemite’s FileVault 2 Recovery OptionsThomas BrandNotes2015-01-28T10:25:55-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-42http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-42Yosemite’s new FileVault 2 pre-boot recovery options:

One of the changes that Apple has introduced with Yosemite is a more straightforward way to recover from login problems at the FileVault 2 pre-boot login screen.

When a FileVault 2-encrypted Mac sits for more than a minute with an account selected at the FileVault 2 pre-boot login screen, a message like the one below should appear:

If you’re having a problem entering your password, press and hold the power button on your Mac to shut it down. Then press it again to start it up in the Recovery OS.

I never store my FileVault recovery key with Apple, but tt is good to see Apple is providing users with a place to enter their Recovery Key should FileVault stop working.]]>Why Amazon Built the Fire PhoneThomas BrandNotes2015-01-27T16:15:46-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-41http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-41The Real Story Behind Jeff Bezos's Fire Phone Debacle And What It Means For Amazon's Future" shows us why Amazon built the Fire Phone.

The project, code-named "Tyto" for a genus of owl, got rolling in 2010, roughly around the time Apple launched the iPhone 4. There were cogent reasons for Amazon to want a phone of its own. As the world goes mobile, an Amazon phone would provide a more direct link to its users. Today, customers often come to Amazon via iPhones or Android devices. Not controlling the hardware can create problems. For instance, you can’t buy e-books through the Kindle app on your iPhone because Apple takes 30% of app-driven sales—a cut that would hurt Amazon’s already razor-thin margin.

Unfortunately for Amazon…

Bezos knew that any Amazon phone would be immediately greeted with one question: Why should anyone buy an Amazon device instead of an iPhone? That’s why his mandate to the team was simple and bold from the very start: Let’s wow customers with something big and distinctive.

The problem with the Fire Phone is that it’s a shitty phone. That’s it. If Amazon had made a phone with compelling features — an iPhone-caliber phone — it would have done just fine, and Amazon’s brand would have grown. If you set out to make a premium quality phone, you have to deliver a premium quality phone.

I disagree with John. The Fire Phone is not a "shitty phone," but it is a shitty phone at $650. If Amazon had kept with its previous strategy of making well-constructed, low-price products, the Fire Phone could have turned out to be a success.

I don't think Amazon is capable of making an "iPhone-caliber phone," the same way I don't think Apple is capable of making a online "everything store" that competes on price. You have to stick with what you know.]]>Pascal Development in Lisa WorkshopThomas BrandNotes2015-01-27T14:01:35-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-40http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-40Apple Lisa in my lifetime, but if I was was developing for one today, this is how I would do it.

Tonight’s project: learn how to write code that runs on Apple’s LisaOS. In this piece, I am using Lisa Office System 3.1, with Workshop 3.0.

As you can imagine, there hasn’t been any kind of documentation on this in decades, so it was all learned through painful trial and error, and scouring old manuals for information. Fun!

]]>NetBoot PowerPC & Intel MacsThomas BrandNotes2015-01-27T13:54:57-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-39http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-39I got my first real job as a System Administrator NetBooting candy-colored iMacs, Power Mac G4 Cubes, and Power Mac G5s between semesters, and sometimes between morning and afternoon classes. You might say Mike Bombich, the creator of NetRestore, got me my first job at Apple, and setup my future career supporting Macs at MIT. Today you can still NetBoot most macs from a Mavericks Server.

Here are some reasons why:

You regularly need an easy, fast, way of installing OS X on multiple machines. NetBoot ALL the things!

You may not have a functional disc drive anymore (it happens!)

Installing over ethernet is much faster than from the CD-ROM drives in older Macs

It works over WiFi on modern Macs

You do custom kernel or OS development, and need a faster way of booting PPC or x86 Macs

Gigabit ethernet is quite likely faster than any SSD you could install in an older Mac

It is a shame Mac OS X 10.0, 10.1, and even Mac OS 9 NetBoot images are also ‘supported’ in theory, however the OSes themselves will not actually mount the OS over the network (presumably due to changes in OS X, AppleTalk, AFP.

If you asked me ten years ago, I never would have guessed we would all be using the Internet to NetBoot and restore our Macs in the future.]]>Dropbox Drops PowerPCThomas BrandNotes2015-01-27T12:55:34-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-38http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-38Last week Dropbox announced they were pulling support Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, and Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, effective May 18th 2015.

The Dropbox desktop application will no longer support OS X versions 10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5 (Leopard) starting on May 18th of 2015. On that date, users running these versions of OS X will be signed out and will be unable to sign in or sync using the desktop application on those computers. Existing files and folders inside the Dropbox folder will remain unchanged and will stop syncing through the desktop application.

Existing and new files can be always accessed from the Dropbox website, mobile devices, and other compatible computers.

Dropbox has long been the cloud-based standard for keeping my Macs in sync; especially PowerPC macs that don't support iCloud, OneDrive or any other modern file syncing service. I am not alone. A petition has been signed on Change.org to keep Dropbox support for Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5.

There are thousands of users and tens of thousands of legacy Macs that need Dropbox to continue to thrive to allow for a simple seamless connection across all Mac OS X and other devices. The sharing features between other users’ clients are also priceless. If keeping that alive takes a small investment on behalf of this community, I can assure you that you have our support. We are a very dedicated bunch, and by continuing to keep our PowerPC equipment synced up, Dropbox will surely benefit from our continued support, both as a product advocate and business partner.

I have not supported Dropbox financially in some time. (MIT provides me with all of the Dropbox space I could ever want.) But if it means keeping my older Macs in sync, I would gladly pay for Dropbox again.]]>Carbon Saved AppleThomas BrandNotes2015-01-24T22:59:11-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-37http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-37runs in every Mac OS from System 1.0 to OS X Yosemite, and he did it using Carbon.

The more I dug into it, the more I came to the conclusion that Carbon was probably one of the most important things Apple did in building OS X. Even today it provides source compatibility for a huge chunk of the classic Mac OS software base. It kept the big companies from ditching Apple outright when they were needed the most, and gave them a huge runway - 16 years to port perhaps millions of lines of code to OS X while still being able to iterate and improve without spending thousands of man-years upfront starting from scratch. Over time, of course, Carbon has improved a lot and you can mix/match Carbon & Cocoa views/code to the point where you can’t realistically tell which is which. I appreciate what a monumental effort Carbon was, from a technical standpoint. That Cocoa apps always felt ‘better’ is more to Cocoa’s credit than Carbon being a bad thing - it’s a lot easier to see that in hindsight.

Apple tried to get all of the big companies to port their existing applications to Cocoa/Yollow Box and failed. Carbon made the transition to Mac OS X possible. It may have saved Apple.]]>The Macintosh Secret Trick ListThomas BrandNotes2015-01-24T10:04:26-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-36http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-36The Macintosh Secret Trick List, compiled by Brian Kendig. All new for 1993! Two of my favorite entries are:

Apple Fax Modem:

While holding down the button on the front panel, turn on the modem.

The modem will beep three times.

After the three beeps, press the button again three times, timed exactly in "rhythm" with the beeps.

If your timing is correct, the modem will speak the digitally-recorded voices of the three developers saying their names ("Peter, Alan, Neal")

Finder 7.0 and MacsBug:

Turn on Balloon Help and point to the MacsBug file.

The balloon reads: This file provides programmers with information proving that it really was a hardware problem…

]]>

Pkgsrc for PowerPC MacsThomas BrandNotes2015-01-24T09:43:54-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-35http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-35the state of open source binaries available for Power Macs running Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger.

One of the things that keeps our Power Macs relevant (besides this project, of course) is a steady stream of ready-to-use open source software; as even 10.6 becomes considered "legacy" this is an even greater concern. In fact, because TenFourFox depends on gcc 4.6 to build (a compiler never shipped with any version of PPC OS X) and various other tools, we wouldn't exist as a project without it.

It has been my pleasure to set Sevan up with the Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003) he has used to compile this exhaustive collection of binaries. (All donated by MIT.) It is amazing how far a single 1.25 GHz PowerPC G4 processor and a lot of effort will get you.]]>HemingwriteThomas BrandNotes2015-01-24T09:35:40-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-34http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-34Hemingwrite, a $349 "distraction free writing tool with modern technology like a mechanical keyboard, e-paper screen and cloud backups."

The Hemingwrite combines the best features of all previous writing tools with the addition of modern technology. It is dedicated like a typewriter, has a better keyboard and battery life than your computer and is distraction free like a word processor. Finally, we sync your documents to the cloud in real-time so you never have to worry about saving, syncing or backing up your work.

For less than $20 you can have an AlphaSmart that does most of what the Hemingwrite can do for a lot less Hipster, and a whole lot less cash.]]>Download LaterThomas BrandNotes2015-01-23T18:10:50-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-33http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-33new iOS feature he wants for Christmas.

All I really wanted (for Christmas) was for the Music app on iOS to register that I had in fact purchased the album, so I could stream Cole’s dulcet tones. What I got was my phone insisting that it had to download the entire album; I tried to pause the downloads and they got stuck at an eternal “Processing” stage. I killed the iTunes Store. I killed the Music app. Finally I restarted the entire phone and resentfully let it download the tracks so I could play them. What should have taken maybe 30 seconds had turned into a five-minute ordeal.

I would love a Download Later feature for all of my mobile devices, and not just music. Better yet, add it to Notification Center and make it the central repository for all downloads across the system. OS X could benefit too.]]>A Change in Apple RetailThomas BrandNotes2015-01-23T17:46:00-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-32http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-32upcoming changes to Apple retail.

You will most likely see some growing pains as the Apple Watch launches across retail stores. Handling how you are going sell, have people try-on and customize a (potentially) $10,000 watch will be a new initiative unlike any other of Apple's previous products. The Genius Bar's initial repair strategy for new products is to replace the device if it's defective or damaged, but I'm curious to see how they will handle issues in the future. The repairability of the Apple Watch remains to be seen, but it would seem costly to replace gold watches entirely if something breaks.

When I was a Mac Genius in 2003, there was no concierge system, there was no queue. We helped everyone who walked in the store, and as a result the Genius Bar was always a mob with frosty sets of eyes staring back at me while I tried to help several customers at a time.

That strategy was stopped being sustainable after the explosion of the iPod, causing Concierge, the queue, and time slots to be introduced. It now appears Apple's current retail repair strategy is no longer sustainable after the explosion of the iPhone and iPad.

It sucks to have to fight over popular time slots in Concierge in order to get my Apple products looked at by a Genius. It sucks that almost no third-party Apple Service Providers exist anymore after they were forced out of business by Apple. I support any changes to Apple's retail stratagy that allow customers to get support for their products faster, without having to always visit an Apple Store.]]>Clearing the Icon Services CacheThomas BrandNotes2015-01-23T10:22:53-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-31http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-31clears the Icon Services Cache in OS X Yosemite.

If you’re seeing any weird behavior with icons in Yosemite, the chances are good that the Icon Services cache is corrupted and needs to be reset. Here’s how you do it using the Terminal:

I don't see this problem, but then again I don't run Yosemite.]]>What is the Best Hard Drive?Thomas BrandNotes2015-01-23T09:57:11-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-30http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-30What is the Best Hard Drive?"

At Backblaze, as of December 31, 2014, we had 41,213 disk drives spinning in our data center, storing all of the data for our unlimited backup service. That is up from 27,134 at the end of 2013. This year, most of the new drives are 4 TB drives, and a few are the new 6 TB drives.

We like every one of the 4 TB drives we bought this year. For the price, you get a lot of storage, and the drive failure rates have been really low. The Seagate Desktop HDD.15 has had the best price, and we have a LOT of them. Over 12 thousand of them. The failure rate is a nice low 2.6% per year. Low price and reliability is good for business.

The HGST drives, while priced a little higher, have an even lower failure rate, at 1.4%. It’s not enough of a difference to be a big factor in our purchasing, but when there’s a good price, we grab some. We have over 12 thousand of these drives.

I started going through them one by one (the applications, at least; the games are more than 200!), and invoking their About boxes to find out exactly which version they were. I found some very old versions of popular applications and — equally interesting — there were also not-so-old versions of popular applications but in French and even German. I thought this exploration was worth capturing, so I took a few screenshots. Here’s a selection of the most interesting findings. Enjoy.

I started a similar endeavor a couple of years ago at MacFloppy.com. I am thinking about reviving it.]]>Death to DockThomas BrandNotes2015-01-21T17:36:14-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-28http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-28

Yesterday I killed the Dock. No I didn’t just kill it, I dragged it to the Trash, and emptied the basket.

I have been a Mac OS X user since the Public Beta. The Dock has never bothered me. Sure, at times it has been a nuisance. But by hiding it, turning off magnification, and pinning it to the left, I have always been able to live with it. Until now.

When did removing icons from the Dock become such a pain in the ass. You can’t simply drag a Dock icon to far corner of the screen anymore and watch it go poof. You have to right-click and Remove from Dock. FOR EACH AND EVERY ICON.

I just rebuilt my computer. I didn’t want to deal with that. So I deleted /System/Library/CoreServices/Dock.app.

Well this is what I have to live with. When you delete the Dock in OS X you can’t minimize windows anymore. You can’t launch apps full screen. Mission Control doesn’t work. Neither does Exposé. LaunchPad, Hot Corners, and the Dashboard all stopped functioning. Notification Center may not open. Worst of all the Application Switcher never appears, no matter how many times I press Command + Tab. And on Mavericks I am stuck with a boring shade of grey as my desktop pattern. (Black on Yosemite.)

In short deleting the Dock sucks. In the words of my coworkers, it takes the Mac OS UI back to the days of System 7. And no, the Finder doesn’t work any better either.

So what have I learned?

If you only want the Dock to show you running applications run this command. defaults write com.apple.dock static-only -bool TRUE If you don’t like the Dock and want an alternative, run DragThing. And if you need an alternative application switcher run HyperSwitch. But don’t delete the Dock. Unless of course you like the limited user interface features of System 7.

The GTX is flashed with a hacked Mac 7800GT ROM but keeps the core and memory clocks at the same high speed, yielding a chimera card that's anywhere between 15-30% faster than the Quadro. I bought one of these about a year and a half ago as a test, and while it was noticeably faster in certain tasks and mostly compatible, it had some severe glitchiness with older games and that was unacceptable to me (for example, No One Lives Forever had lots of flashing polygons and bad distortion). I also didn't like that it didn't come with a support extension to safely anchor it in the G5's card guide, leaving it to dangerously flex out of the card slot, so I pulled it and it's sitting in my junk box while I figure out what to do with it.

RapidWeaver 6, the highly polished website creation tool from Realmac software, is out now. I have been using it for the last couple of months to publish Egg Freckles. Like its predecessor, RapidWeaver 6 allows users to assemble a professional looking website using a variety of powerful plug-ins, and beautifully designed themes.

New features include 5 stunning themes with responsive design, an Addons Manager with access to over 1,000 add-ons made available by the RapidWeaver community, Markdown support, site-wide code injection, and master styles. RapidWeaver 6 also takes advantage of all of the latest OS X features, including 64-bit support, versions, autosave, and a redesigned user interface that’s ready to go fullscreen on your Yosemite desktop.

My favorite new RapidWeaver 6 feature may be the “Supercharged Publishing.” Instead of uploading your website one file at a time over FTP, RapidWeaver 6 can publish up to six files simultaneously, making site-wide edits even faster than previous versions.

For all of its refined design and extra polish, RapidWeaver 6 does not change the fact you you still need powerful add-ons to make a powerful website. The sites you publish with RapidWeaver are static HTML, and lack dynamic features like site-wide search, and a web-based uploading. You may need to purchase additional add-ons, like Stacks, to realize the design of your dreams. I would love to see a companion iOS app that makes publishing a blog, or switching stylesheets possible on the go.

I am disappointed more of RapidWeaver’s built-in plug-ins didn’t receive updates, and that Markdown support isn’t available in the blog editor. Support for plain text, footnotes, and adjustable text sizes would also be appreciated.

That being said, RapidWeaver 6 is the ideal website editor for anyone who wants the ease of use and customization of Squarespace, but prefers working on their Mac and publishing to almost any web server. Realmac’s online support is top notch, and the online community of RapidWeaver users are very helpful. RapidWeaver 6 is a sure upgrade for small business owners or family member who wants to publish a beautiful website without the hassles of complex hosting, or the limitations of online blogging platforms.

]]>Enable HiDPIThomas BrandNotes2015-01-12T11:05:07-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-25http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-25Simply follow these instructions.]]>Sleepy Sleepy MacThomas BrandNotes2015-01-10T10:12:01-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-24http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-24Dan Moren writes about one of my favorite OS X commands pmset, and how he used it to rid his Mac of Insomnia. I wrote about using pmset to turn off SafeSleep late last year. When in doubt delete your Mac's /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.PowerManagement.plist file and restart to reset your Energy Saver preferences back to default.]]>Building a HackintoshThomas BrandNotes2015-01-09T18:10:14-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-23http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-23

On the latest episode of Connected, the boys discussed Hackintosh, and why anyone would want to build one. Stephen Hackett even brought up my name and linked to My Setup, because I run a Hackintosh.

Building a Hackintosh is not for everyone, but it is a lot easier in 2015 than it was in 2007. Pick the right hardware, load a few kernel extensions, and you have a reliable Macintosh workstation on the cheap. There are even some GUI-based tools to guide you through the process.

But building a Hackintosh is not for everyone. Here are the reasons I choose to build one, and some of the obstacles I have had to overcome to build a really great desktop PC running Mac OS X.

I choose to build a Hackintsoh because I wanted all three. My Hackintosh cost less than the price of an equivalent iMac. I built it in a small form factor of my choosing, and with the capabilities of a much larger computer. And with over ten years of PC hardware experience I know what I am doing. I love to tinker with the inside of my computer.

Still if you asked me seven years ago, I would say building a Hackintosh was not for me. No matter how good you are, or what components you pick, you will never get a Hackintosh running as reliably as a real Mac. iMessage and FaceTime will never just work, and you always have to be careful about the software updates you perform. Cooling your Mac’s hardware becomes your responsibility, not Apple’s. That is because OS X was made to run on real Macs. If you get something wrong, or your hardware doesn’t match what Apple expects, your Hackintosh will crash. If you want a computer that is as reliable as your refrigerator, a hackintosh is not for you.

So I get what the boys are saying, when they can’t see a hackintosh in their futures. You have to want all three, low prices, choice of components, and a love to tinker, to make a building a Hackintosh worth it.

]]>Reset iTunes MatchThomas BrandNotes2015-01-09T07:57:58-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-22http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-22Stephen Hackett does. Here is how he reset iTunes Match after it was no longer showing him all of his music in the cloud.

Like every other cloud service Apple offers, there's no man-behind-the-curtain preference pane to reset things. There's no toggle labeled "Reset iTunes Match" anywhere.

However, iTunes Match can be tricked into being reset.

I started by launching iTunes from the Dock with the Option key held down, which let me create a new iTunes library. With this new, empty library, I logged into iTunes Match. This displayed my music collection as iCloud sees it. I hit Select All and delete, removing the files from iCloud.

Just like Dan Frakes' article about duplicating OS X user accounts, Apple doesn't always give you the "man-behind-the-curtain preference pane" you need to reset things. Luckily Stephen and Dan are nice enough to show us how. ]]>Duplicate an OS X UserThomas BrandNotes2015-01-09T07:38:58-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-21http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-21Dan Frakes has a better idea.

Unfortunately, OS X doesn’t provide a simple way to duplicate an existing user account. I’ve come across complicated procedures requiring shell commands in Terminal and/or serious account-administration tools, but most people would take one look at these procedures and decide that, well, creating new accounts and reconfiguring them doesn’t look so bad after all.

However, it turns out there’s a much easier way, if you think creatively. It just requires an up-to-date Time Machine backup (or clone backup) of your Mac.

Sure it requires a separate disk and a backup of your Mac, but it also requires a lot less "scary Terminal stuff" and everyone should have a backup of their Macs these days.]]>Speed HolesThomas BrandNotes2015-01-08T16:28:23-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-20http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-20Why I Drilled Holes in My MacBook Pro and Put It in the Oven."

Finally, we sent it back into the oven—for seven and a half minutes, in case getting it a little hotter made a difference. And while it baked, we decided it was time to break out the bigger guns. That is, we pulled out a drill. With a 1/16” bit, we drilled holes in the bottom case, under the fans (we figured out where the blades of the fan were exposed based on the dust pattern stuck to the inside of the bottom case). The speed holes worked: The boot chime rang. The screen glowed. The fans blew.

As MIT's Lead Man Genius I replace a lot of logic boards, in a lot of MacBook Pros. GPU failure is almost always the issue, and I suspect overheating is almost always to blame.]]>Fire PhoneThomas BrandNotes2015-01-08T11:30:23-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-19http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-19ere are some of the factors that led me to my decision.]]>Fat BinaryThomas BrandNotes2014-12-29T15:49:49-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-18http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-18

Starting February 1, 2015, new iOS apps uploaded to the App Store must include 64-bit support and be built with the iOS 8 SDK, included in Xcode 6 or later.

This is not the first time Apple has relied on Fat Binaries to bridge the gap between processor architectures.]]>An SSD for Every PowerBookThomas BrandNotes2014-12-20T13:46:24-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-17http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-17Riccardo Mori shows us how to add an SSD to almost any PowerBook

So I inserted the Compact Flash card with Mac OS 7.6.1 in the PowerBook 5300 and performed the same test as quoted above. First I booted the PowerBook 5300 from its internal hard drive, then I selected the CF card in the Startup Disk control panel, turned off the machine, and booted it from the CF card, again measuring boot times with a stopwatch. The results:

Internal hard drive (Mac OS 8.1): 2 minutes, 30 seconds.

Compact Flash card (Mac OS 7.6.1): 1 minute, 5 seconds.

Less than half the time when booting from the CF card! True, those are two different versions of Mac OS, but the amount of extensions loaded during start-up is more or less the same.

After starting the PowerBook 5300 from the CF card, I opened control panels, applications, files, and the PowerBook 5300 felt way more responsive than when operating from the internal hard drive. And considering how noisy the 1.1 GB IBM hard drive is, one really appreciates the quiet when working from the Compact Flash card.

Not a great test, considering Riccardo is using two different versions of the Mac OS. But it is easy to see where booting from a Compact Flash card has its advantages; speed, durability, and battery life.

In fact as I remember, the chief reason for booting from a Compact Flash card back in the day was longer battery life, not speed. Every minute you can keep your PowerBook from spinning up its internal hard drive adds minutes to its battery life. Given the state of PowerBook batteries these days, a Compact Flash boot drive may be just the thing for any PowerBook user looking to do actual work on a vintage Macintosh.

]]>ImageOptimThomas BrandNotes2014-12-12T18:46:17-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-16http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-16ImageOptim is a free app that makes images take up less disk space and load faster, without sacrificing quality. It optimizes compression parameters, removes junk metadata and unnecessary color profiles.]]>SMART StatsThomas BrandNotes2014-12-12T16:37:27-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-15http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-15Backblaze on SMART Stats:

To determine if a drive is going to fail soon we use SMART statistics as evidence to remove a drive before it fails catastrophically or impedes the operation of the Storage Pod volume.

From experience, we have found the following 5 SMART metrics indicate impending disk drive failure:

SMART 5 – Reallocated_Sector_Count.

SMART 187 – Reported_Uncorrectable_Errors.

SMART 188 – Command_Timeout.

SMART 197 – Current_Pending_Sector_Count.

SMART 198 – Offline_Uncorrectable.

We chose these 5 stats based on our experience and input from others in the industry because they are consistent across manufacturers and they are good predictors of failure.

It is interesting to see the correlation between SMART Stats and hard drive failures in a sample size as big as Backblaze.

]]>EasyFindThomas BrandNotes2014-12-11T09:49:49-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-14http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-14Sherlock. And before Sherlock there was the Find command in the Finder. We have come a long way since the search in System 7. Content awareness, deep indexes, and live results have made modern search powerful. But sometimes I wish I could return to a simpler find, where the indexing every file isn't required, and I can see the results from every folder on my hard drive. EasyFind is powerful search made easy.]]>SeilThomas BrandNotes2014-12-10T09:23:20-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-13http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-13Seil is a utility for remapping the Caps Lock key in Mac OS X.]]>Lost Generation of SudanThomas BrandNotes2014-12-09T14:16:27-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-12http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-12Stephen Hackett:

For the uninitiated, Sudan and South Sudan are ground zero for some of the worst humanitarian situations in the world. For 25 years, the government of Sudan has committed mass murder on a horrific scale supported international terrorist organizations with complete impunity. Omar al-Bashir and his government has been systematically bombing and starving entire people groups to death.

With this film, Operation Broken Silence is launching Project Endure, a coordinated effort to put these kids — and their teachers — back in the classroom. It's a targeted program designed to bring positive change to the future of Sudan.

I was invited to a special preview of the Lost Generation of Sudan last week while I was in Memphis. It is hard to believe people I know are attempting to make a change this big, half the world away. Will you help them make a difference?]]>Script Debugger’s 20th AnniversaryThomas BrandNotes2014-12-09T10:33:29-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-11http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-11Mark Alldritt:

Interestingly, Script Debugger 1 may never have been a product. I was very uncertain about how to market and sell what was really a $129 piece of shareware. BBEdit was the only model of how this could be done by an independent developer. Remember, the Internet was not as it is today. Software was shrink wrapped in boxes containing floppy disks and printed manuals. It took serious cash to produce product. I had 2000 copies made at a cost of CDN$20,000 (1994 $s). The packing boxes filled an entire room in my basement. Software was sold through mail order outlets (MacTech, Apple’s Developer Central, and others) and trade shows like MacWorld and WWDC. The Mac had no presence in computer stores at that time.

Another piece of classic Macintosh software continues despite major changes in the Apple ecosystem.]]>PopCharThomas BrandNotes2014-12-09T10:25:40-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-10http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-10Riccardo Mori on PopChar; a Classic Mac app.

PopChar was a very useful addition to my Macs and I used it regularly up to Mac OS 9.2.2. When running, it placed a little ‘P’ in the menubar (usually in the top left corner near the Apple logo, but you could customise the ‘hot spot’). Suppose you were writing a document and needed to insert a special character or a symbol and you didn’t remember the correct keyboard shortcut (or there wasn’t a direct keyboard shortcut to begin with). With PopChar installed, you clicked on the little ‘P’ and a pop-up character palette appeared. You could select the needed symbol and have it inserted right away. Fast, intuitive, and quickly out of the way.

PopChar was a major component of every desktop publishing setup when I was in design school.]]>iPod Classic SaleThomas BrandNotes2014-12-09T10:08:47-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-9http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-9this article about the scramble this Holiday Season for yesteryear’s iPod Classic.

One of this year’s hottest Christmas presents is no longer available in the shops. Two months after Apple announced the demise of its iPod Classic MP3 player, the model is selling secondhand for up to four times its original price as aficionados clamour to get their hands on one.

With a storage capacity double the size of any current iPods still being made, versions of the 160GB Classic – which can hold around 40,000 songs – are being sold as new via Amazon for up to £670. More than 3,000 of the models – the seventh, final version came out in 2010 – have been sold on eBay since the Classic was retired in October, most for between £350 and £500.Even refurbished older models now cost far more than the £229 for which the later generations retailed.

Anyone looking for an Apple refurbished iPod Classic should contact me. I may have a few stock parts to sell you. Headphones, iPod Dock Connector cable, and accessories sold separately.]]>Open With DuplicatesThomas BrandNotes2014-12-09T09:50:44-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-8http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-8Launch Services database is to blame.

Follow these instructions to flush the database and return order to the Finder’s Open With menu.]]>We Need Your HelpThomas BrandNotes2014-12-05T11:34:17-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-7http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-7But I am still flying down to Memphis today. I am still running tomorrow. This race is important. Because no matter what finds a way into my life, I still have a life to live.

So many children are not so lucky. Thousands die from cancer every year. And thousands more are fighting for their lives right now.

If you have money to give, please consider donating to St. Jude today. Not because I need your help raising $2,500, or because you like reading my website. But because St. Jude Cancer Research Hospital saves children's lives.

This copy of the Install OS X Mavericks application can’t be verified. It may have been corrupted or tampered with during downloading.

The issue is not with your installation media, but rather with your Mac's time and date. Follow these steps to set it right.]]>Dual OS X InstallersThomas BrandNotes2014-12-02T19:13:57-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-4http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-4these steps.]]>Write to NTFSThomas BrandNotes2014-12-01T10:08:41-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-3http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-3quick tip this morning. How to mount a Windows NTFS formatted drive on a Mac, and make it writable. Just remember to back up your data first!]]>Stop SafeSleepThomas BrandNotes2014-11-26T09:41:25-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-2http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-2Follow these instructions to disable SfaeSleep, and reclaim unused gigabytes from your Mac’s SSD.]]>Return to SetupThomas BrandNotes2014-11-25T16:06:35-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-1http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-1commands I use to complete the task.]]>New BeginningsThomas BrandNotes2014-11-24T08:18:40-05:00http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-0http://eggfreckles.net/index.html#unique-entry-id-0PieCrust, and baking my website one static page at a time. This time I am changing my CMS not because of a fancy for something new, but because Piecrust, my CMS of choice, is moving from PHP to a new version of Python my hosting provider doesn’t support.

While I take some time to decide what to do next,I thought I would revisit an old friend and see how the latest version of RapidWeaver is coming along. Version 6 has plenty of new features, but the two I like best are Markdown support, and new redesigned user interface. What can I say, I am a sucker for great Mac applications, with good design.

I am sure a formal review of RapidWeaver 6 will follow, but in the meantime please let me know the spelling errors I have made, and which links I have broken.